News
Monday, September 30, 2013
Moot on remedies for domestic industries heldISLAMABAD: To create awareness among the business community on how to protect their business interests, a seminar on ‘Remedies Available to Domestic Industries under Trade Defence Laws’ was held here on Sunday.
The seminar was organised by the National Tariff Commission (NTC) in collaboration with the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).
NTC Director General Abdul Khaliq briefed the businessmen on the salient features of three trade remedy laws ie the Anti-dumping Duties Ordinance 2000, the Countervailing Duties Ordinance 2001 and the Safeguard Measures Ordinance 2002.
He said trade remedy laws did not provide an alternative to normal tariff but were intended to deal with dumped or subsidised imports, which were affecting domestic producers.
He said the NTC had advised the federal government on tariff measures or other forms of assistance for providing a level-playing field and improving the competitiveness of the domestic industry. It also assisted the exporters facing anti-dumping investigations or actions abroad and thus helped in promoting exports, he added.
He said since 1990, the NTC had finalised more than 250 tariff protection cases and forwarded recommendations to the government.
He said the commission continued to assist Pakistani exporters facing trade defence action by WTO members.
He said it provided guidance on laws and procedures, in understanding and responding to a questionnaire and in investigations and review proceedings.
He said the NTC efforts were aimed at strengthening regional and global competitiveness and supporting Pakistani traders and manufactures through awareness and outreach.
He said the commission had already assisted many exporters facing investigations in the EU, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, Turkey, India, Peru and Philippines and would continue to serve the interests of exporters.
ICCI President Zafar Bakhtwari stressed the need to develop expertise in trade remedy laws to benefit from the vast opportunities presented by multilateral trading system.
He said understanding and awareness of trade remedy laws was very important to protect the domestic industry against unfair trade practices.
He said Pakistan should make progress towards knowledge-economy and to achieve this goal, there was the need to create more awareness about trade remedy laws.
He appreciated the NTC initiative for organising the seminar and hoped that the event would go a long way towards strengthening the competitiveness of industries and exporters. He said the NTC should organise such seminars throughout the country for the capacity-building of Pakistan’s private sector. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk